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Meanwhile, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed has said that Bangladesh would strongly resist any attempts by India to push in unverified Bangladeshi nationals.

“The BGB has firmly resisted three to four push-in attempts, and they will continue to do so whenever such attempts are made,” she told reporters at the foreign ministry yesterday, reports our diplomatic correspondent.

The so-called irregular Bangladeshi migrants became an issue in the run-up to elections in West Bengal and Assam.

Indian media last week reported that hundreds of alleged Bangladeshis had gathered over the previous two days at Hakimpur in India’s West Bengal, hoping to cross the border as authorities tightened enforcement.

AFP on May 29 reported it was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) election campaign to “detect, delete and deport” illegal migrants in Assam and West Bengal. The BJP won in both states.

Besides, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs recently wrote a diplomatic note alleging that it had not received an “actionable response” from Bangladesh regarding the repatriation of 2,868 suspected illegal Bangladeshi migrants since September 2020.

Speaking on the matter, foreign ministry officials said Bangladesh has repatriated many Bangladeshis over the years and that there are issues with the Indian side as well in terms of having consular access, legal procedures and mismatches of names in the list of alleged Bangladeshis.

Dhaka has already responded in detail in diplomatic letters -- one on May 12 and the other on May 27, they said.

Shama Obaed said push-ins go against the international laws as well as the India-Bangladesh treaty on border management.

“We will in no way accept push-ins of people.”

She mentioned that Indian authorities, after the West Bengal election, told Bangladesh they would not carry out any more push-ins.

“We expect the Indian government to play a positive role, as it is speaking of a paradigm shift in the relationship. If not, we will discuss it at a political and diplomatic level and address them.”

All these issues will be discussed at the director-level meeting between BGB and BSF scheduled to be held in New Delhi on June 8-11, according to the state minister.